Conductive and convective heat transfer augmentation in flat plate solar collector from energy, economic and environmental perspectives - a comprehensive review.

The primary objective of the paper is to identify the effective way to enhance the conductive and convective heat transfer of the FPSC. The performance enhancements of different FPSC components such as absorber plate, absorber tube, and heat transfer fluid are reviewed in detail. The influence of absorber plate configurations, material properties, a center-to-center distance of the absorber tube, plate thickness, coatings, and tube geometry have been assessed to increase the conduction heat transfer. Also, the augmentations of convective heat transfer using different nanofluids in FPSC such as Al2O3/water, CuO/water, CNT/water, TiO2/water, SiO2/water, graphene oxide/water, MgO/water, CeO2/water, WO3/water, ZnO/water, and hybrid nanofluids are evaluated in detail. The performance improvements using both conductive and convective (combined) passive technique have been elaborated. The table representation has been used to describe the activities performed in each paper which include FPSC type, passive technique detail, properties of heat transfer fluid, Reynolds number, heat transfer aspects, pumping power, energy, exergy, environmental aspects, and inference. These data will help the researcher to identify existing activities and the potential gap. This review paper also deals with the suggestions for the research work which can be carried out in the direction of heat transfer from solar flat plate collectors.

Accumulation of biomedical waste during the COVID-19 pandemic: concerns and strategies for effective treatment.

This study deals with the pollution impact of biomedical waste (BMW) generation due to the COVID-19 pandemic at both the global and national levels. This discussion is important in light of clear scientific evidence that, apart from the airborne transmission of the disease, the virus also survives on different surfaces and poses the risk of infection. Moreover, an investigation is conducted on BMW generation in tons/day in India during the COVID-19 period, with implications for future projection. Additionally, a pioneering study was conducted to estimate the usage of facemasks during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. This paper also provides a feasible solution, by adopting a modern perspective, towards managing BMW generated in the context of SARS-CoV-2 at isolation wards and crematoriums. Strategical approaches have been suggested for segregating and safely disposing BMW. The latest availability of disposal facilities is discussed based on source data provided by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), India. Among the many disposal methods, incineration technologies are examined in depth. The impact of existing incineration technology on the environment and human health has been extensively studied. This study suggests strategies for controlling BMW generation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Energy and environmental analysis of a solar evacuated tube heat pipe integrated thermoelectric generator using IoT.

This paper investigates the solar evacuated tube heat pipe system (SETHP) coupled with a thermoelectric generator (TEG) using the internet of things (IoT). The TEGs convert heat energy into electricity through the Seebeck effect that finds application in the waste heat recovery process for the generation of power. The present work deals with the theoretical study on solar evacuated tube heat pipe integrated TEG and it is validated experimentally using with and without parabolic trough concentrating collector. However, it is found that the maximum power output due to the influence of the parabolic trough concentrator results in increased efficiency when compared with the non-concentrating SETHP-TEG system. Thus, the thermoelectric generator's electrical energy efficiency for the concentrating system was 0.151% greater than the latter one. A power electronic boost converter may enhance the acquired TEG output power to a maximum of 5.98 V. This would be directly used for both mobile charging and lighting applications in distant places and military camps where the community lacks sufficient electrical access. And the carbon credit of the TEG system is determined to find its potential in the environmental aspects of carbon emission per watt, carbon mitigation, and carbon credit and its results are 2.34 × 10-3 g/W, 0.027 tonnes, and 0.681 dollars respectively for a TEG module. Besides, the recorded real sensor data with Arduino is implemented in the experimental process for automatic remote monitoring of the temperature.

Experimental investigations of stability, density, thermal conductivity, and electrical conductivity of solar glycol-amine-functionalized graphene and MWCNT-based hybrid nanofluids.

This research article discusses properties such as density, thermal conductivity, and electrical conductivity of solar glycol with amine-functionalized graphene and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The hybrid nanofluid is prepared by dispersing the amine-functionalized graphene (AFG) and MWCNTs (50:50 in % by weight ratio) in pure solar glycol. The AFG and MWCNTs are dispersed in different volume concentrations of 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.15% through the classical two-step homogenizing technique. Good colloidal stability nanofluid are prepared with Gum Arabic (non-covalent) as the surfactant. The stability of nanofluids is ensured through scanning electron microscopy, UV-Vis spectrometer, and zeta potential analyzer. The nanofluid thermal conductivity is measured with varying the nanomaterial loading from 0.05 to 0.15 vol% using a KD2 pro thermal analyzer. The thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity of nanofluid augmentations are considerably with an increasing volume concentration of AFG and MWCNT loading. The thermal conductivity of the AFG-MWCNT-based hybrid nanofluid is augmented by 8.59% for the maximum concentration of 0.15 vol% at 50 °C. The electrical conductivity of the solar glycol-based nanofluids is enhanced linearly with increased operating temperatures. The maximum electrical conductivity enhancement attained is ~28.85% at a nanoparticle loading of 0.15 vol% and 70 °C.